Wonderland 2: King of Spades

by Cheyenne McCray

By the time he had fastened both nipple rings on her, Alexi was so hot for him she wasn’t sure she could take much more.

  “Come, firecat.” He took her hand and led her to one of the sparkling amethyst and black walls. The collar felt snug and exciting around her neck, and the spades swinging against her breasts made her want to scream with the need for release. “Lean forward and brace your hands against the wall,” he ordered, “and widen your thighs.”

  Alexi obeyed, planting her feet wide apart and leaning over to place her palms flat against the faceted wall, the spades dangling from her nipples. She loved how it felt, bent over and exposed to Darronn like she was. It amazed her how completely she trusted him…like no man ever before.

  She gasped as he slid the familiar black spade vibrator into her pussy and he murmured, “Remember, firecat, you may not reach climax without permission.”

  The anticipation of wondering what he was going to do to her this time was driving her wild, but she managed to reply, “Yes, Master.”

  Alexi moaned as the spade began pulsing in her core in a manner that was different than any way she’d experienced it before. It felt so fabulous she had no idea how she was going to keep from coming before he said she could. Darronn must have used magic to keep it in her because he was now massaging and caressing her butt cheeks with his hands as the vibrator continued to throb in her pussy.

  “Such a fine, ass.” He moved his hips next to hers and she fought to keep from thrusting back against him, knowing that he would deny her if she did. She had to let him control her. “Would you like me to take you?” he asked, the rough timber of his voice sending more thrills through her.

  “Yes, Master.” Alexi moaned. “Take me now, please.”

  “Ah, but you have earned many punishments.” Darronn backed away then slid a strap over her back that he had obviously retrieved with his magic.

  The caress of leather against her skin made her shiver with anticipation and her heart beat faster, knowing what would come next. “I’ve been such a bad girl, Master.”

  “Indeed.”

  The first lash fell across her buttocks and the vibration of the spade in her pussy increased. Even the spades at her nipples and the charm at her navel swung faster and almost seemed to hum. Her skin stung then tingled and then he lashed her again, causing more flames to lick through her body. The bite of each lash quickly turned into fissions of pleasure until she felt she would literally burst into a bonfire of ecstasy.

  “May I come, Master?” she whispered when she was almost too close to the edge to pull back.

  “No.” His sharp command brought her back, just barely. He stopped the lashes and withdrew the spade.

  For a moment he just left her there, waiting for him. Not touching her, not speaking. Then she caught the whiff of that incredible musk, that scent he’d called tigri pheromones.

  Her entire body began to tremble with such force she knew she’d fly apart if she didn’t have him now. To hell with waiting, she was just going to turn around and then from behind her, he murmured, “Free yourself. Be wild, firecat.”

  Alexi pushed away from the wall, spun around, and flung herself at Darronn. She held on with one arm around his neck while she wrapped her legs around his waist. With her free hand she grasped his cock and placed it to the entrance of her core.

  Darronn stopped her, holding her by her waist and keeping her from slamming herself down on his cock. She fought him, needing him inside her more than anything in the world. His musk lightened, slightly, but enough that she stilled when she saw the way that he was looking at her.

  Lust, passion, and she was certain she saw love in his green eyes, too.

  His mouth came down hard on hers at the same time the tigri musk became stronger and he brought her down hard, thrusting his cock inside her pussy.

  Alexi screamed into his mouth at the feel of him inside her. God, it seemed like she’d been waiting forever to have him, and now that he was in her, she couldn’t get enough.

  They ravaged one another’s mouths as they fucked. Alexi braced her hands on his shoulders, driving herself up and down on his cock, harder and faster. The spades bounced from her nipples and even the collar added to the extreme pleasure shooting through her body.

  Darronn ripped his mouth from hers and captured her gaze. “Now, firecat!”

  Alexi’s climax blasted through her and she shrieked. Her cry echoed through the cavern, bouncing from crystal to crystal until the entire chamber sang. The harmony blended with the vibrancy of her orgasm and the purple and black crystals sparkled in tune with it all. Light, color and sound blended into a symphony that set her world aflame.

  Chapter Ten

  Strawberry tarts rained from blue-green skies and scattered across the table where Alexi sat alone in the middle of a forest. In front of her on the red tablecloth were a chipped plate and a cracked tea cup resting on half a saucer. Another place setting was arranged to her right, but no one was sitting in the straight-backed chair.

  Before Alexi could reach for one of the tarts, the sorceress appeared wearing nothing but an enormous stovepipe hat with a wide brim. Even Kalina’s collar and the spades that normally dangled from her nipples were missing. In her hands was a tea pot with most of the spout broken off.

  “All is not as it seems, Milady,” Kalina said as she poured tea into Alexi’s cup. Fluid spilled over the teacup’s brim, onto the half saucer, then bled into the red tablecloth.

  When the sorceress vanished, Alexi reached for one of the tarts in the middle of the table, but before she could grasp the tart it rose up in the air and settled on the plate to her right, where someone was now sitting.

  She raised her gaze to meet Alice’s turquoise eyes.

  Alexi gasped as she stared at her sister. Alice wore an almost sheer white dress with red hearts sprinkled over it. In her white-blonde hair was the blue satin ribbon she’d been wearing the day of her disappearance.

  Before she could jump up and throw herself at her twin, Alice held up her hand. In it was a black leather whip. “In Wonderland you must be careful,” Alice said.

  Chills rolled through Alexi as Alice laid the whip across the table and repeated the sorceress’s warning, “All is not as it seems.”

  Alexi woke with a start. She blinked, her vision coming back into focus and the memory of where she was and what had happened returned to her.

  That same awful ache settled in her gut because Alice wasn’t really there with her. It had just been a freaking bizarre dream.

  Yet it seemed so real. And strangely enough, it made Alexi feel as if the connection she’d had with her twin from the time they were born until Alice vanished… it was as if that connection had been reestablished.

  She rarely remembered her dreams in the past, but the dream of her escape, and then this new dream of Alice were so clear and vivid in her mind.

  Why?

  Darronn stirred and her attention turned toward how good it felt to be in his embrace. His arm draped around her waist, her back to his chest, his firm cock against her ass, and he had one leg hooked over her hip. Even in sleep he bound her to him, and she loved how it felt. They were lying on a fabulously soft black velvet cushion-bed that he had summoned with his magic and had arranged by the small waterfall.

  His wonderful male musk surrounded her, making her feel both content and edgy all at once. He was an addiction to her system—yet she knew that it wasn’t something that he’d forced on her. But he certainly could have long ago with that tigri pheromone. Good lord that had been an amazing experience. She couldn’t help but respect the fact that in all the time she’d been here, he’d never used it to force her to want him.

  Not that he’d had to force her ever—even when he’d staked her to the ground all those weeks ago, she’d been unbelievably attracted to him. Darronn was every fantasy she’d ever had rolled into one amazingly muscled, powerful, gorgeous and well-hung package.

  His breath was warm on her nape, his breathing dee
p and even. She brought one hand to the collar still snug around her neck and ran a fingertip over the leather strap and the gold spades decorating it. At the same time she was very aware of the gold spades at her nipples that felt just as comfortable and familiar to her now as the tiger charm did at her navel.

  Was something wrong with her, that she liked the collar and how the nipple rings felt? Knowing that they were signs of ownership should be demeaning, shouldn’t it? That’s what she’d thought when she’d watched Kalina walking around the château, and many of the other servants and villagers who wore collars and nipple piercings. Sure, they looked sexy, but she hadn’t allowed herself to think of them beyond what convention dictated her thoughts should be.

  Why does it feel so right to be wearing Darronn’s signs of ownership now? Why do I enjoy the thought of belonging to him and only him?

  Alexi was also amazed at how wonderful it felt be able to truly count on someone to take care of her, someone who was her equal in every way. Choosing to submit to him felt delicious and special.

  If only he would tell her that he loved her.

  She knew how much he desired her, and she knew how much it pleased him that she had admitted her love.

  But did he feel it in his heart and soul, too? He was so damn arrogant he probably expected it. But, if he didn’t love her, could she accept that?

  No. Absolutely not. The answer was as clear as the feelings in Alexi’s heart for her lover. If Darronn merely considered her a prize, or his due, she couldn’t and wouldn’t live with or accept it. She deserved to have her love returned a hundred percent, and she would settle for nothing less.

  For awhile Alexi watched the cavern’s purple and black crystals glittering around her, and they reminded her a bit of the day the mirror had appeared in her bedroom. It seemed so long ago now, another lifetime. According to Kalina, the four weeks she’d spent in Tarok equated to a little over six Earth weeks…and in that short amount of time she’d lived with and had grown to love Darronn.

  His words came back to her, from that first day in the meadow, “For your own good, you must learn the desires and fears of your heart—and you must learn to trust and respect the one person with the skill and power to make you whole.”

  Loving Darronn had allowed that and more. She did trust and respect him, but she would be whole only when he returned her love, and when she found Alice.

  When Alexi’s thoughts turned to her sister, thoughts of the dream came back to her and that familiar ache returned deep in the pit of her stomach and in her heart. Alice deserved someone special, too—especially after the assholes who had hurt her so badly.

  Damn it. What happened to Alice? Where is she now?

  Alexi squeezed her eyes shut and bit the inside of her cheek. For crissake, she wasn’t the crying type, and she wasn’t about to start now. For the past year she’d let her anger drive her as she searched for Alice, and not once had she stopped long enough to let the pain take over and control her.

  But right now Alexi felt like she was anything but in control. And in reality, she never had been. She’d tried and tried, and nothing she’d done had worked.

  What would it be like to turn everything over to someone else, or to at least turn some things over? To stop trying to fight the world on her own…and maybe allowing someone to help her fight her battles…or fight them for her.

  The moment Darronn woke, he sensed that his mate was in turmoil. She had admitted her love for him and had chosen to wear his signs of ownership…what could cause her to feel such distress that it vibrated through his very being?

  “Firecat,” he murmured as he rolled her onto her back and positioned himself between her thighs in a smooth motion. “What troubles your heart?”

  Her normally strong and confident expression had vanished, and in its place was the vulnerable look of a woman who needed him. Her aqua eyes were bright as though unshed tears glistened there. “My sister. It’s been so long. I need to find her.”

  For a moment Darronn considered telling her that her sister was safe and well, but he decided now was not the time. She would want to leave at once and he first needed to meet with his brothers. Ty and Karn would be arriving from their respective kingdoms in the next day or so. Once they had determined their next course of action against Mikaela, Darronn would tell Alexi. It would be soon enough and he would then be ready to make the journey to Hearts with her.

  “Trust me, firecat.” He slid his cock into her channel still slick with their lovemaking, ensuring she would not dwell upon such thoughts for now. “You shall see your sister again.”

  Alexi gasped as Darronn filled her, and he smiled at the power he had over her. Her scent of starflower and midnight and the smells of her juices and his seed only made him hungrier for her, and he knew he would never get enough of her.

  She clamped her thighs tight around his hips as he took both her wrists with one hand and pinned them above her head, fastening her gold bracelets together with his magic. Seeing his collar at her throat and his rings at her nipples gave him a feeling of intense pride. He was certainly the most blessed of men to have such a fine woman as his possession.

  Well, not exactly his possession. His…mate.

  Her eyes were wide and filled with emotion and trust he had not witnessed in their depths before. “I love you, Darronn,” she whispered as he slowly drove in and out of her. “I never thought I would care for anyone the way I love you.”

  “I will always take care of you.” He gave her a slow and sensual smile as he focused his gaze on hers as he increased the strength of his thrusts. “And you will always be able to trust me with your love.”

  “Darronn!” Alexi cried out as he pounded his cock into her. “Just know this…” she said, her voice quavering with passion, “if you break my heart, I’ll kick your ass.”

  The fire and strength in his woman pleased him to the depths of his soul and filled him with a power like none he had ever felt in his many years. “Come for me, Alexi,” he demanded, never taking his gaze from her beautiful face and never slowing his thrusts.

  Her eyes widened as though in surprise that his voice could command her orgasm. She trembled and arched up her breasts as she cried out. A flush stole across her skin and her body glistened with sweat as her climax shook her.

  Darronn’s own orgasm rushed over him like a raging wildfire. Furious and fast it came and he roared as his fluid spilled into his woman.

  When at last he was spent, he rolled onto his side and cradled Alexi close to him, his cock still snug inside her quim. She sighed and snuggled into him, and his feelings of power and possessiveness grew.

  The cards had indeed given him the woman who was his perfect mate.

  * * * * *

  Just days after Alexi had proclaimed her love for him, Darronn strode from his chambers and left his mate to her own devices. His boots echoed down the granite hall as he headed toward the sorceress Kalina’s quarters to meet with his brothers Ty and Karn who had recently arrived with news from Jarronn.

  Alexi’s sweet scent was still on Darronn’s skin and he pictured her as he had left her, sprawled upon their bed, naked and well-sated. He no longer felt concern that she would attempt to escape again. Nay, after their time in the cavern she seemed more content to stay in Spades, if not truly happy, and that pleased him greatly.

  While he strode to the other end of the château, he smiled at the memory of his time with Alexi. Soon he would tell Alexi of her sister’s fate and take his future queen to Hearts to visit High Queen Alice. He wished to ensure that Alexi was tightly bonded to him before they made the journey, and to do that he needed her full attention, her complete devotion.

  All was going exactly as he had planned.

  He raked his hand through his wild mane of hair as he neared the sorceress’s chambers. The past few days had been full of unparalleled pleasure and enjoyment for Darronn and Alexi. They had spent much time discussing their lives and what they had done before he br
ought her to Tarok, and their bond had grown even tighter.

  Darronn had recognized long ago that she would never be content to serve only as his mate. But as his queen she would rule at his side and he was certain she would enjoy the role. His people already loved her spirit, and when they witnessed her wearing his signs of possession, they had felt as he did, that Alexi was now one of them and truly belonged in their world.

  The one thing that concerned him was that she seemed to have no desire for children. Alexi had been curious why there were none in his kingdom, and he had explained about the Queen of Malachad and what she had done to his people. How she had used her legions of bakirs and mindspells to invade the dreams of the women of Tarok and caused them to become infertile.

  Darronn would not force Alexi to bear his children, even if it meant his people would one day be gone with no one to carry on into the future.

  When he strode into the sorceress’s dim chambers, smells of almond, vanilla, and sandalwood washed over him. Kalina’s beautiful face was illuminated by the glowing a’bin, the table she used to foretell the destiny of all four kingdoms throughout the lands of Tarok. Upon it were magical cards she was studying, each bearing pictures that swirled with thousands of images whose mysteries only Kalina could unravel.

  Karn had one shoulder hitched against the wall as he studied the lovely sorceress while she worked. The look in his dark eyes was one that Darronn hadn’t seen since the wars with Mikaela the previous summer, and that troubled him greatly.

  Ty, the youngest of the four kings, was missing the roguish expression that he usually had, his golden head tilted to one side and his arms folded across his broad chest.

  Karn flicked his gaze from Kalina to Darronn, a slight raise of his eyebrows the only sign of greeting before he looked back to the sorceress. Ty merely gave Darronn an abrupt nod. Darronn’s gut clenched, and he had no doubt the sorceress’s news would not be good.

  When he stood before the table, he clasped his hands behind his back and waited for Kalina’s trance to end. Her dark brows puckered in concentration, her gaze darting from one card to the next. Beneath the scant leather clothing she wore, her chest rose and fell, the dark circles around her nipples peeking above and below the thin strip of leather that bound her breasts. It occurred to him that at one time the sight would have aroused him, yet now it caused him only to think of Alexi and how much he desired to return to her.